Chicago adds funds into $500-a-month guaranteed income program
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced an additional $32 million in investments for a program that provided $500 per month in guaranteed income for lower-income households in the city.
The additional investment in the Chicago Resilient Communities pilot comes as Chicago tries to finish spending $576 million in funds from the federal government, sent to the city as part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The spending has to be done soon to avoid having to send the money back to the federal government, and the mayor unveiled a series of investments on Tuesday.
“When I came into office, I wanted to ensure the money the city received from the federal government was utilized to help the communities most impacted by the pandemic and the many long-standing inequities it exacerbated,” Johnson said. “My administration has developed a plan to ensure that these funds are being used in a strategic way to directly and concretely impact the lives of people across Chicago.”
As for how the plan is being received in City Council, 34th Ward Ald. Bill Conway said there should be more oversight into how the remaining funds are spent.
“I think the mayor could have been a heck of a lot more collaborative. My ordinance was meant to do that, unfortunately the mayor’s allies buried that in the rules committee,” Conway said.
While Conway supports the Guaranteed Basic Income program, he believes City Council members should have had more of a say in the allocation of these funds.
A total of 5,000 households were selected for the initial program, according to the city. The requirements for participants included residency in the city, being 18 years of age or older, and having experienced economic hardship related to COVID-19. Applicants must also have a household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.
It is not known at this time when the city will reopen applications for the program, but residents can get more information on the pilot’s website.
With the new investments, a total of $63 million has been put into the pilot, according to city officials.
Other programs that will receive funding from the remaining COVID funds include housing support, human rights, arts and culture, and effective governance, according to the mayor’s office.
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